Monday, November 30, 2009

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I was quite the master fisherman this weekend. I caught 4 turtles (oops, those were accidents, hehe), one 10 inch catfish, one 14 inch bass, and about 12-15 blue gills. Dad almost got a 24 inch (or so) carp in the 'boat' but he was horsing it too much a lost it, hehe. I know that when you flip through most of the pictures you will see Ryan and dad showing off most of the fish, but in fact most of them were mine, I just didn't want to touch them, hehe.

Catfish (his tail was up, he was a little longer than this (PS That is dad's hand):I was stoked. The big ones came out after dark:He was a little over 2 shakas long:Big bass:

I think Kyle would be proud (WE SURE DID MISS YOU THERE THIS WEEKEND KY!)!! More Thanksgiving fishing pictures here.

WE WENT TO SONIC FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER!! YEAH, WE ARE THE COOLEST!! Mom had 'the best' hamburger and tots, Ryan and I had grilled cheese and dad had a chilli dog. We really enjoyed ourselves at the drive-in for our Thanksgiving dinner. WHO NEEDS STINKIN' TURKEY WHEN YOU'VE GOT TOTS AND LOVE?! :)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It seems unlikely Michigan will fire Rich Rodriguez after two awful seasons with an NCAA investigation looming, a search for a new athletic director under way and luxury boxes to fill at the Big House.

One of the school's richest graduates, though, said Rodriguez better win more football games in 2010.

"If he has a bad year next year, he'll have a lot more pressure," Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told The Associated Press, standing near midfield before the Wolverines lost to Ohio State on Saturday to finish 5-7. "I don't think he has anything to worry about right now in my mind."

One person can end the speculation about Rodriguez's future and she has declined to do it.

An e-mail asking school president Mary Sue Coleman if Rodriguez will be Michigan's coach next season was sent Sunday, and the response didn't quite answer the question.

"The president remains supportive of the coach," associated vice president Kallie Bila Michels responded.

Yippppeeeeee!! I have checked Ryan and I in to our flights for tonight and printed our boarding passes!! We are almost on our way (we just have to finish out the work day, BUMMER) and then we will be LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE!!

WHOO HOO!! The Edge is releasing their first LIVE CD. I think Ryan and I will pick up at least one of these for us... Maybe a couple more for Christmas stocking stuffers :)

We happy to announce SONGS FROM THE EDGE VOL 1. This LIVE recording features 10 of your favorite worship songs from the EDGE. The CD will be available starting December 5 in the EDGE during weekend services and in the church bookstore. Cost is $5.

Many of the gorgeous Spanish-Baroque Revival structures in this sprawling San Diego space are remnants of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Today, the park hosts a diverse range of attractions, from flower gardens to theaters and sports complexes. Balboa Park is also home to numerous museums and the world-renowned San Diego Zoo.

If you have already booked a flight in or out one of these airports, well, then it sucks to be you. All is not lost for those still waiting to book - Orbitz also compiled a list of the 10 least busy airports.

Graham will play his final game at Michigan Stadium on Saturday as the Wolverines take on No. 10 Ohio State (ABC, noon ET). And if Michigan doesn't pull off a major upset, Graham's college career will be over.

"My days are numbered here," Graham told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "I don’t think I’m going to cry. But I don’t really know what to expect. I know that when I'm finally done, when I can’t take any classes here or anything like that, I might cry then. Other than that, I'll be OK. I'm going to be tough."

For a minute, forget about Michigan's 5-6 record and its mostly miserable performance on defense. Graham has been absolutely unstoppable at defensive end, and he's got the numbers to back it up.

His 21 tackles for loss lead the FBSHe's tied for second in the Big Ten and tied for 24th nationally in sacks with 8.5He's the only FBS player to rank among the top 10 nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss in each of the past two seasonsHe has at least one tackle for loss in nine of his past 10 games and six games of two or more tackles for loss this seasonHe has blocked two punts and returned one for a touchdownHe has forced two fumbles, one of which teammate Ryan Van Bergen recovered for a touchdown last week at Wisconsin

That's the general sentiment around the country this week as college football's greatest rivalry gets ready to resume Saturday at Michigan Stadium (ABC, noon ET). One of my esteemed colleagues called this the "most uninspiring November weekend in recent memory." There are valid reasons for this belief, namely Michigan's 5-6 record, Ohio State's guaranteed BCS bowl berth and the likelihood that Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez will be safe no matter what takes place between the lines on Saturday.

I say let them thumb their noses at The Game. You and I know better. The Game always matters.

As I watched the end of the 1987 Ohio State-Michigan game (Earle Bruce's final triumph) and the start to the high-scoring 1988 contest on ESPN Classic during lunch Thursday, I started to get excited about Saturday's contest.

Okay, okay, this may seem silly, but it MADE MY DAY! I checked the mail this afternoon and took the few pieces out (normally we just get junk mail that I am constantly contacting the companies to be removed from the mailings because I hate killing trees). When I brought the two pieces into the living room I noticed IT! We had a invite to a Christmas Party from church. No, that isn't what made my day. What made my day was how it was address - Ryan & Carlee P. M.! NO STINKIN' WAY! I have been trying to train EVERYONE that my name is Carlee Padot McClurg for the last 15 months. Most of the mail comes through as "Ryan & Carlee McClurg". I understand that not taking your husband's last name may cause some confusion on how to address things, but honestly I would much rather have it just say "Ryan & Carlee" if you don't know or have questions. Anyway, I AM SO STOKED that North Coast got it right! WHOO HOO!! I may just post this on the fridge :).

How AWESOME. We just received some mail from North Coast. Our annual goal is to have 80% of out weekend adult attendance to be involved in growth groups. The fall numbers just were counted and we are at 93 PERCENT!! How crazy!! This is crazy with any size church, but especially a large church like us. ONE WAY TO MAKE A LARGE CHURCH FEEL MORE LIKE A COMMUNITY!!

Growth Groups are the key way to get connected and be encouraged to grow spiritually here at North Coast.

We believe spiritual growth flows out of two basic commitments:**A commitment to God and the Bible. **A commitment to significant Christian relationships.To help develop these significant relationships, we have created "Growth Groups."It is our goal to have every member of our church involved in either a Growth Group or another similar small group experience. While most groups are sermon-based, some are special interest groups focusing on topics such as parenting, marriage recovery and Christian basics for new believers.

Michael gets excited when he is invited by David Wallace to be honored on stage at the Dunder Mifflin shareholder meeting in New York, and he brings Andy, Dwight and Oscar along for the ride. Meanwhile, Jim has a hard time getting Ryan to do work.

(I KNOW THE PICTURE IS FROM THE HALLOWEEN EPISODE, BUT I SAW IT AND JUST HAD TO POST IT... DWIGHT IS SO CREEPY SOMETIMES :) )

Gum for my boat is an alluring documentary that touches on the redemptive power of surfing. This short feature tells the story of how a group of underprivileged kids in Bangladesh are making a difference in their community, and how the surf club they started is the catalyst for this change.

Last October, Kahana Kalama and Russell Brownley took a trip with Surfing the Nations to Bangladesh to get to know the kids in the Bangladesh Surf Club. After nearly a year we are ecstatic to say that the film is finished. Watch the trailer now, and stay tuned for details on future screenings. You can also see the site here.

* This is the 24th season for the Lights Before Christmas, which features over one million lights and more than 200 lights animal images* The electrical spectacle known as the Dancing Lights and the 85-foot Norway Spruce are decorated with all wide angle LED lights.* The Lights Before Christmas began in 1986 with 50,000 lights and an attendance of 71,000 visitors; the record attendance for a Lights Before Christmas season was 2006, with 178,177 visitors.* We began using LED lights in 2002 and now approximately 35% of our lights are LEDs.* The Zoo begins hanging lights during the first week of September each year.* Two techniques are used to hang lights -- draping and wrapping.* A core crew of 12-15 employees from the Zoo's Grounds Department install the lights.* Nearly 50,000 feet of extension cords are used -- that's almost 10 miles!* If all the lights were strung end-to-end, they would reach nearly 70 miles!* It takes approximately 2 months to take down all the lights, then sort and store them for the following year. * Over 2,700 pounds of fudge will be made during "Lights Before Christmas, along with over 6,800 gallons of hot chocolate, more than 6,000 cinnamon pretzels, and over 3,800 gingerbread men.* Visit Santa's Ginormous Toyland located in the historic Indoor Theatre (through December 23).* Also, don't miss strolling carolers on selected evenings, ice-carving demonstrations on Thursday nights, rides on the train and carousel, a model train display, and hot chocolate and other holiday treats!* Big Tree Stats: - The Big Tree is a Norway spruce located near the Broadway entrance by the Conservatory - It's between 65-70 years old and over 85 feet tall. - The lowest branches from tip-to-tip are 50' in diameter. - The trunk circumference is 8 feet 7 inches. - It is estimated to weigh about 7 tons. - There are over 30,000 lights on the Big Tree alone, that's almost 3 miles of lights! - It takes approximately one week to decorate the tree.

The Allen Iverson(notes) experiment with the Memphis Grizzlies is over.

Memphis announced Monday that the team has ended its one-year contract with the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP in what it called a mutual agreement. Iverson began an indefinite leave of absence on Nov. 7 to deal with a personal issue after playing only three games with the Grizzlies, all in California.

“Because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on November 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters,” general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. “As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best.”

Mike did Big Church on Sunday! (I guess we call it Big Church because he normally works with the High School kids, so when he goes into the 'adult' church we call it Big Church). He did GREAT! If you get a chance, watch the sermon here. It was on spiritual gifts and playing your position. We have growth group tonight. It should be interesting to see how we discuss his own sermon, hehe... No, I know it will be great! Normally though, when we have questions we discuss about we think the pastor meant by what he said, now we will actually have the pastor there so we can get a lot more clarification :). Mike will be doing Thanksgiving Eve service too, but we will be in Florida so we will have to miss it (can't sit in the front row this time to root him on).

WHOOO HOOO!!! One week till we are flying to Florida to spend 'Thanksgiving/Christmas' with my padres!! Ok, so it is really Thanksgiving holiday, but we decided that instead of gifts this year for Christmas we would do a trip, so it is sort of like our Christmas too, hehe!! Our flight out is next Tuesday night (oh the red-eyes).

Monday, November 16, 2009

5. Chew the FatBefore refrigeration, salted beef and pork were staple foods aboard sailing vessels because they could be stored for long periods without spoiling. However, they were also tough and extremely difficult to eat. It often took a great deal of chewing just to soften up the meat and make it edible, which took a lot of time. So, in the spirit of multi-tasking, men would gather to discuss the day’s events while they chewed their fatty, salt-cured meat. According to this theory, whenever people get together to gossip or chat, we say that they are “chewing the fat.”

Georges St. Pierre said he's going to try to wrestle for Canada in 2012. Competing for your country in the Olympics is an amazing feat, and a worthy goal for a competitor like St. Pierre. There is one problem, though. Canada is already pretty well stocked with wrestlers at 74 kg (163 lbs.), the weight GSP would likely compete at.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Since it is one of the best-known college towns in America, it shouldn't be surprising that Ann Arbor is not car-heavy. Many of the city's major employers, such as the academic journal service JSTOR, the weather service Weather Underground, and the headquarters for Google's AdWords service are based downtown. That centralized location and Ann Arbor's compact nature make commuting easy for walkers, bikers, and bus riders.

WHOO HOO!! Today Disneyland changes over to HOLIDAYS!! YAY!! I think Ryan and I will wait a few weekends before going to check it out (give it a little time for the crowds to even out - HA, YEA RIGHT!). Check out the Holiday Site here. You can even send Christmas ECards - YAY! Check out the games, videos, etc on the site if you have a chance. 51 Days left of the Holidays at Disney!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. A federal holiday, it is usually observed on November 11. However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.